[So, I’ll confirm again. It’s true, right? Kon?]

[Master. As I have said many times before.]

Because I asked the same thing repeatedly, Kon’s voice sounded a bit exasperated.

[But I’m worried…]

[It is impossible for a soul-compatible person to harm the mother during childbirth. The contract with a soul armor user is made through blood, so unless the umbilical cord is cut and the fetus is completely separated from the mother, the mother’s blood will mix, and the contract will fail. At the fetal stage, the soul armor user is no different from an ordinary human.]

[So, the deaths of Kotomi’s relatives during childbirth were just…]

[Simply unfortunate coincidences. It’s completely unjust.]

Hearing Kon’s indignant voice, I finally felt relieved.

Thank goodness…

There’s nothing to worry about, as Kotomi feared.

Well, then…

[Kon, shall we leak this information to the National Soul Armor Research Institute as usual?]

[Yes, yes. I anticipated you would say that and have prepared accordingly. This time, we’ve asked Espio for assistance.]

[We’ll spread it through Marin-chan’s Espio.]

[It’s better to leave the handling of information to experts.]

[That’s right. If it’s Marin-chan, she’ll likely relay the information to Kotomi quickly.]

[Wouldn’t it be better if you told her directly, Master?]

[It’s more reassuring to hear it from an authoritative third party than from me.]

[She would believe you if you told her. And it’s time to end our internal conversation. Time’s up.]

[Alright. See you later, Kon.]

I ended the internal conversation and brought my consciousness back to reality.

“Hey, don’t space out, Yuu! Keep working on those problems!”

“Uh, sorry, Mina.”

I was pushing through my summer homework in my living room under the watchful eye of the strict instructor Mina.

Mina, dressed like a school teacher with her fake glasses, white blouse, and tight long skirt, kept the pressure on me with her ruler in hand.

Even though the second semester starts tomorrow, my summer homework progress was not just on the edge but had fallen off the cliff.

“We need to prioritize the subjects with early submission deadlines first.”

“It’s really like walking a tightrope…”

“Well, it’s not surprising, considering you were busy with various tasks after we returned from the Okinawa trip.”

In reality, the only pure summer break I had was the Okinawa trip with the Soul Armor Research Society; the rest was filled with missions and other duties.

I initially planned to ask Kotomi for help with my homework, but she was also busy in the second half of the summer vacation due to her selection as the third seat of the special task force.

Currently, she’s in Okinawa with Dr. Kirigaya, so I can’t get her assistance.

“Back in elementary school, you used to finish your summer homework early, Yuu.”

“People change, Mina… Oh! Speaking of the end of summer vacation!”

While reminiscing with a wry smile, a particular memory resurfaced.

“…No.”

“I haven’t even said anything yet! There’s a local fireworks festival today, right? I want to eat yakisoba from the food stalls!”

On the last Sunday of August, our local area hosts a fireworks festival.

When the fireworks end, I feel sentimental about the end of summer vacation, but it also helps me shift my mindset to the start of the second semester.

“There’s no way you can go to the fireworks festival in this situation, Yuu.”

Mina smiled and tapped a large paper chart on the wall with her ruler.

The chart showed my homework progress as a bar graph.

None of the bars were tall yet.

“Oh no…”

“Now, stop daydreaming and keep working!”

Under the strict surveillance of the silver-haired teacher, my last day of summer vacation continued.

“Whew, I managed to finish the homework due tomorrow…”

By the time I finished enough homework to submit the next day, the sun was almost set.

It’s too late to make it to the main venue of the fireworks festival now.

I missed the fireworks after all…

Wait, Mina said she was going to change, but she hasn’t returned yet.

“Sorry for the wait.”

The door to the living room clicked open.

There stood Mina, like a bright red spider lily signaling the end of summer.

The large flowers resembled fireworks.

“How… do I look in this yukata?”

Mina appeared in a yukata adorned with deep red spider lilies painted in a watercolor style.

Her hair, usually straight, was now wavy from a curling iron.

“You look… amazing.”

“That’s it? Just ‘amazing’?”

“When you see something wonderful, words just can’t do it justice…”

“Th-thank you.”

Mina, embarrassed, turned her face away.

Her wavy long hair was tied up like a chignon, revealing her white nape.

“So, are we going to the festival stalls in that yukata?”

“No, your studies aren’t finished yet.”

“Ugh.”

Initially captivated by Mina’s yukata, I got excited at the thought of attending the fireworks festival, but that excitement was quickly extinguished.

“But you wouldn’t be able to concentrate once the fireworks start, right? So let’s watch them from the garden.”

“Yay!”

I threw aside my workbook and rushed to the veranda.

“Alright, you’ve done enough for tomorrow’s submission.”

“Hurry, Mina!”

“Geez, you’re like a child, Yuu.”

“It’s been years since I last saw fireworks. I’m really excited!”

“Didn’t you see any fireworks on the battlefield?”

“No. If we had fireworks on the battlefield, it would be mistaken for enemy attacks, and everyone would go into high alert.”

The sounds, lights, and faint smell of gunpowder from fireworks can trigger many memories.

So, watching fireworks from a distance without the smell might be a good thing.

“Here, eat this, Yuu.”

Sensing I was recalling the battlefield, Mina thrust something into my mouth.

“Mm! This is… chilled pineapple!”

“Yes, isn’t it nostalgic?”

The slightly frozen pineapple with its crunchy texture, sweetness, and slight acidity reminded me of my childhood.

The pineapple skewered on a stick brought back memories of eating it while walking around the festival stalls.

“I remember! I used to eat this at the stalls when I was a kid. It was refreshing after yakisoba or takoyaki.”

“Griddle foods like yakisoba don’t taste the same when made at home, but I thought I could recreate this, so I prepared it.”

“Did you prepare this, Mina?”

“Yes, I cut it from a whole pineapple.”

“Wow, a whole pineapple.”

“So, you can have as much as you want, Yuu.”

“It’s like a childhood dream come true. Thanks, Mina.”

Festival pineapples were expensive, so I usually only got one.

“Um… my dream has always been to be your bride, Yuu…”

(Boom!)

“Oh, it started!”

The first fireworks went off, and cheers erupted from the neighborhood.

“Mmm… timing…”

“Were you saying something, Mina?”

During a break in the fireworks, I tried to ask what Mina was saying before the noise drowned her out.

“Nothing!”

“Really? But you look wonderful today, Mina. The spider lilies on your yukata match the fireworks perfectly.”

“Don’t suddenly compliment me like that!”

Mina, her face turning red like the spider lilies on her yukata, hid her mouth with a fan.

“It’s a shame not to show off such a beautiful yukata outside. After the fireworks, let’s go to the now-empty stalls.”

“That’s what you were aiming for… No, we go back to studying after the fireworks.”

“Come on, putting on a yukata was hard, right? Don’t you want to show it off to others?”

“The last time I wore a yukata to a festival, I got hit on more than usual and almost had drinks spilled on me three times by women. I don’t want to go through that again.”

I see… Mina’s striking appearance as a silver-haired half-Japanese beauty in a yukata must have drawn a lot of attention.

Those women probably pretended to stumble out of jealousy.

“So, I get to have you all to myself in your yukata?”

“Yes, right now I belong only to you, Yuu.”

(Boom! Crackle!)

We both turned our faces back to the resuming fireworks.

The slightly embarrassing conversation made me grateful for the distraction.

I glanced at Mina’s profile illuminated by the fireworks.

Her face, momentarily highlighted by the flashes of light, was stunningly beautiful.

After the fireworks, we really did go back to studying, but with Mina, the silver-haired, glasses-wearing, yukata-clad teacher, sitting next to me, I couldn’t concentrate at all.

[Bonus]

Mina: “I’m home~”

Mina’s mom, Milia: “Welcome back, Mina. You’re late.”

(Staring…)

Mina: “What, Mom? Why are you staring at me as soon as I get home?”

Milia: “I see. Even though you were late, nothing happened with Yuu, huh?”

Mina: “Huh!?”

Milia: “Your yukata is still exactly as I dressed it. I tied the obi string in a special knot that would change if it was undone.”

Mina: “What kind of trap is that!?”

Milia: “I even styled your hair to show off your nape beautifully… If you had shown a bit more charm, you might have won Yuu over. When your father and I…”

Mina: “Ah! Ah! I don’t want to hear about that!”

Mina covered her ears and fled to the bathroom.